i'm don lemon, and this is cnn's top ten of 2012. this hour we look at the stories that captured our attention, what we see as the biggest stories of the year around the world. in crime, money, weather, and even the biggest scandals. and later this hour, the big reveal of the most intriguing people of the year as chosen by you. we begin with the topic that dominated our coverage for much of the year. here's cnn's chief political correspondent and anchor of state of the union candy krolly with the top political stories of 2012. >> picking the top ten moments of an election year is like finding your favorite grain of sand on the beach, there are an impossible number of possibilities. there are the moments when catch phrases become boomerangs. >> if you've got a business, you didn't build that. >> i like being able to fire people that provide services to me. >> when cast members stole the spotlight. >> i'm an american woman who uses continue semgs, so let's start there. >> it's like an etch-e-sketch. shake it up and start over again. >>